A/HRC/RES/44/12 seek, receive and impart information undermine democracy and the rule of law by preventing efforts aimed at holding public authorities accountable and exposing corruption; 8. Calls upon all States: (a) To promote, protect, respect and ensure the full enjoyment of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, both online and offline, and to take all measures necessary to put an end to and to prevent violations and abuses of the rights referred to in paragraph 1 above, including by ensuring that relevant national legislation complies with their international human rights obligations and is effectively implemented; (b) To ensure that victims of violations and abuses have effective remedy, that threats and acts of violence are investigated effectively, and that those responsible are brought to justice in order to combat impunity; (c) To promote, protect, respect and ensure women’s and girls’ full enjoyment of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, both online and offline, without distinction of any kind; (d) To enable everyone, including journalists and other media workers, and human rights defenders, to exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression, including by taking effective measures to ensure their safety, and to protect in law and in practice the confidentiality of journalists’ sources, including whistle-blowers, in acknowledgement of the essential role of journalists and those who provide them with information in fostering government accountability and an inclusive, democratic and peaceful society; (e) To respect the right to freedom of opinion and expression in the media, in particular editorial independence, and to promote a pluralistic approach to information and multiple points of view, inter alia by encouraging a diversity of ownership of media and of sources of information, including mass media, and to refrain from the use of imprisonment or the imposition of fines for offences relating to the media that are disproportionate to the gravity of the offence; (f) To ensure that any limitations on the right to freedom of expression are only such as are provided by law and are necessary for the respect of the rights and reputations of others, or for the protection of national security or of public order, or of public health, including by ensuring that all measures taken to counter threats related to terrorism, violent extremism and public health are in full compliance with international human rights obligations, including the principles of lawfulness, legitimacy, necessity and proportionality; (g) To refrain from imposing restrictions that are inconsistent with article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including on the free flow of information and ideas, including through practices such as the use of Internet shutdowns to intentionally and arbitrarily prevent or disrupt access to or the dissemination of information online, the banning or closing of publications or other media and the abuse of administrative measures and censorship, and on access to or use of information and communications technology, inter alia radio, television and the Internet; (h) To adopt and implement laws and policies that ensure the freedom to seek, receive and impart information, including by: (i) Undertaking all necessary efforts to ensure easy, prompt, effective and practical access to government information of public interest, including online, and encouraging the proactive disclosure of information held by public entities in the broadest possible terms, including on grave violations and abuses of human rights, and ensuring that grounds for refusing the disclosure of information held by public bodies are narrowly defined; (ii) Enacting the necessary procedures to allow equal participation in access to information and to facilitate access to and use of information; (iii) Facilitating and promoting access to and use of communications and digital technologies; 9. Encourages all business enterprises to meet their responsibility to respect all human rights as stated in the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: 4